ST. PAUL, Minn. - Tameron Ferguson scored a career-high 25 points, but the Augustana basketball team fell 99-97 to Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday afternoon inside the Gangelhoff Center.

Ferguson shot 11 of 17 from the field and knocked down a 3-pointer while adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tying a career-high in points was Tanner Te Slaa, who scored 21 points on 7 of 13 shooting and knocked down five 3-pointers. 

Bennett Fried played all 40 minutes and went 6 of 11 from the field, scoring 12 points, grabbing six rebounds and swatting two shots. Brady Helgren added 12 points and six rebounds off the bench while Akoi Akoi poured in 11 points and dished four assists. Sam Rensch also added three steals. 

The Vikings shot 51.3 percent from the field and outscored CSP off turnovers (21-13), in the paint (60-52), and on second chances (20-7), but saw a wide discrepancy at the free throw line, shooting just 10 free throws while the Golden Bears shot 31. 

Fried scored his first four points when leading an 11-6 AU run to open the game and force a CSP timeout. The Golden Bears marched back after the break, evening the score at 13-13 with 14:46 left in the first half. 

The game saw ties at 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21 before a CSP 3-pointer put them ahead 24-21 with 11:02 left in the half. That lead ballooned to as many as 14 as a fast break layup made it 39-25 in favor of the Golden Bears with 5:50 left in the half AU chipped away, hanging around before a 5-0 run to end the half saw the Vikings get within 48-44 into the locker room. 

As it did to end the first half, the offense continued to pick up. CSP reached another double digit lead in the first 2:14 and floated between a 9-11 point lead for the next five minutes of action.

The AU deficit crept above double digits and stayed there until a Te Slaa fast break 3-pointer brought the Vikings within 82-75 with 8:45 to go. After a CSP bucket, Te Slaa and Ferguson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get within 84-81. 

With 5:37 to play, CSP looked to have gotten the game under wraps as they mounted a 13 point lead. Jack Hastreiter scored a pair of baskets to get the Vikings back within single digits and led an 11-0 run, capped by a Fried dunk with just under two minutes to play to get the Vikings within 95-93. 

A layup by the Golden Bears ended the run but Helgren scored on the other end to keep the game within two. CSP scored again and Ferguson canceled it out with a layup of his own with 40 seconds left. 

On the final Golden Bear possession, Hastreiter blocked a shot to help force a shot clock violation and give the Vikings a chance to win. AU had two cracks at the victory, but missed both 3-point attempts before the buzzer to drop the game. 

The Vikings return home on Thursday, Dec. 19, for an NSIC game against Southwest Minnesota State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.